Five women artists of Quartz Collective share their journey.
Parallels of Perspective’ curated by Georgina Maddox, held at Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House, had a grand opening showcasing five women artists from ‘Quartz Collective’. The show was inaugurated on June 8, 2026 by Aditya Arya, founding director of Museo Camera with art-critic and poet Prayag Shukla and founder of Art Route Lubna Sen.
The Quartz Collective, formed by women artists, shares their journey as a collective voice while presenting their individual expression. The featured artists were Nitasha Jaini, Ritu Aggarwal, Shikha Gupta, Gitanjali Kashyapand Ritu Singh Panday.
Nitasha Jaini captures the essence of city-life, exploring the complexities of male characters. She affirms, “A male is my muse.” She combines figurative forms with abstraction, bright colours, uses out-of-ordinary materials adding relief method, cutout patterns and depicts men in suits and ties. She recognises the burdens on men imposed by patriarchal ideology.
Ritu Agarwal focuses on sharp, orderly lines and perfectly outlined shapes, chiefly geometric abstraction and architectural forms. She confirms, “I engage with clean lines, layered compositions, and optical illusions to explore the tension between order and chaos.” By blending lines, shapes, adding light, middle tones and depth, perspective view and fragments of modern urban architecture, she creates rich narratives.
Shikha Gupta explores themes like memory, awareness, transformation and conditioning. Her scrolls and paintings render an inner mindscape blending unseen forms with fluid lines and soft colours. She conveys “fears, beliefs, silences and ways of being”. Shikha explains, “I reflect on how inherited emotional patterns silently shape our lives across generations.” Her art is therapeutic. She believes that visual expression heals bringing pause, silence and inner realisation.
Gitanjali Kashyap started working under the mentorship of senior artist Rameshwar Broota. She says, “I am an artist in pursuit of ‘simple’ perfection, seeking the essence, the heart.” She is a minimalist. She cites renowned modernist Nasreen Mohamedi as a major inspiration. Gitanjali made the transition to visual art from the fashion industry. She uses crisp intense lines, geometric forms, and even paper-folding as techniques. The consistent, soothing closely-spaced lines in her artworks create a sense of motion and a fabric-like woven texture.
Ritu Singh Pandey, a painter and curator, held 18 solo and 40 group shows across 22 countries. She defines her art practice as “a geological exploration of the human soul”. The intricacies of nature and opposing forces in the universe inspire her. She observes the dynamic qualities of nature, multitude of facets and shifting systems, not as a static backdrop. The changing biological, geological and celestial aspects interest her artistic sensibility. She depicts cosmic power, hidden energy and drama of nature, reflecting human struggles, dilemmas, destruction and the evolution process. In this show women assert their presence and significant contributions.
